PG's Wine of the Week

Tranche and its Blue Mountain Vineyard occupy a spectacular setting on the eastern edge of Walla Walla. The focus is on Rhône-style varietals and blends that may be enjoyed picnic-style on the expansive grounds. Regular weekend concerts are held outdoors throughout spring and summer (full disclosure – my band plays there once or twice a year). It's fair to say you cannot get anything less than a wonderful wine at Tranche, but this week's feature is a particularly good value. An estate-grown blend of six southern French white grapes, this is vinified and aged in a mix of concrete eggs and French oak. It's ripe, rich and loaded with buttery tropical fruit flavors of melon, papaya and peach. The acids keep it fresh and refreshing, though not tart, and there's a seam of butterscotch lacing through the finish. A better alt-white would be hard to imagine.

675 cases; 13.8%; $28 (Walla Walla) 

https://tranchecellars.orderport.net/product-details/0418/2019-Pape-Blanc